Strain and traffic on networks is increasing as consumers (such as Internet subscribers) access more and more data from networks and as content providers serve larger, richer data content to consumers. Streaming and downloading a high definition (HD) movie, for example, requires considerable bandwidth. When multiple consumers are streaming HD movies, the resulting traffic may strain the network. In addition, poor latency, packet loss, and other network issues may cause the HD movie to stall or otherwise decrease the quality of the experience for the consumer.
Network operators have an incentive to improve the ability of the network to distribute content to users in a manner that reduces the traffic on the network and that also improves the experience for the consumers.